Category: Niagara

Cabernet Franc has found a remarkable home in the diverse terroirs of Ontario, producing wines that are both vibrant and distinctive. Over the past several months I’ve tasted through 28 different bottles of Cabernet Franc, primarily from the Niagara peninsula, but also two bottles from Prince Edward County.  I wanted to examine how the unique climate and soil composition of the Niagara Peninsula,…

Today I have a mini-vertical of Cabernet Franc wines from the Niagara region’s Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery, in particular their The Chestnut Tree Cabernet Franc wines from 2015, 2017, and 2018.  It is exciting to taste a vertical of wines from a single winery and vineyard, so that you can get a glimpse into how the wine ages and the…

Today, I paired my third dish from Sous Chef by Cardinal™ with a red and a white wine.  The dish was the Marsala Braised Chicken with seasoned long grained rice.  The white wine was the Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Interlude Chardonnay 2024, and the red wine was the Dobbin Estate Cabernet Blend 2020 (85% Cabernet Franc and 15% Merlot)…

Here are my latest two Niagara region Cabernet Franc wines to tell you about from One-Eighty Estate Winery.  The story of One-Eighty Estate Winery, “…all started when Bob and Marzia decided they wanted to pursue a new path in life…Bob and Marzia and their two daughters, Taylor and Sara, have always been risk takers in life…Opportunity arose to own and…

These next two Ontario Cabernet Franc wines come from a slightly different area than the other Ontario wines, I’ve been tasting so far.  Prince Edward County is a small region jutting into the north side of Lake Ontario.  It has a cooler climate compared to the Niagara region on the south side of Lake Ontario.  This area is best known…

The next Ontario Cabernet Franc wines I would like to tell you about are from Thirty Bench Wine Makers, who are located on the Beamsville Bench.  This is one of my favourite Niagara wineries, best-known for their Riesling and Pinot Noir wines, IMHO.  I eagerly anticipated opening these two Cabernet Franc wines to see what these wines offer.  Both are…

I am continually amazed by the wines and the wineries that I have come across as part of my study of Cabernet Franc wines produced in the Niagara region of southern Ontario.  One of the wineries is Drea’s Wine Co. which produces small batch, single vineyard, low intervention wines.  Checking their website, I read, “Drea’s Small Batch Wines are crafted…

Peller Estates, nestled in the heart of Niagara-on-the-Lake, has a rich winemaking heritage that began in 1969 under the vision of Andrew Peller, a Hungarian immigrant with a dream to craft world-class Canadian wines. Over the decades, the winery has become a cornerstone of the Niagara wine region, producing a diverse portfolio of varietals that express the local terroir. Among…

Inniskillin Wines near Niagara-on-the-Lake holds a significant place in Canadian wine history as the country’s first estate winery since Prohibition. The granting of their license on July 31, 1975, was a historic event, as it was the first winery license issued by the LCBO since 1929. The founders, Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser, are credited with starting the winery. Inniskillin began…

My next pair of Ontario Cabernet Franc wines in my research goes to Konzelmann Estate Winery and Reif Estate Winery which are located west and south of Niagara-on-the-Lake respectively.  Konzelmann has lake influence, while Rief has the Niagara River influence.  Both wines are Reserve level and both from the 2020 vintage, which was viewed as a fantastic vintage, so both…